For me, riding my motorcycle is having the freedom of the open road and traveling with the wind in my hair! Sounds great, right? Well, after any extended period of riding in the weather elements; physical and mental fatigue takes over, leaving the operation of a motorcycle quite dangerous.

On my quest to create comfort and extend my riding to a long haul, I decided to improve the stock windshield (or windscreen) of my KTM SM-T. This is where aftermarket parts, SOLIDWORKS and 3D printing technology takes over.

Motorcycle Windscreen: Stock vs Touring

Take a look at the stock windscreen below. It looks ergonomically ‘sporty’ but doesn’t provide much protection from the weather elements.

In comparison, you will see a touring windscreen below. This version is significantly taller but still does not provide the necessary protection from the weather elements.

The Aftermarket Alternative

I decided to purchase a larger, sport-touring specific windscreen which offered improved protection from the weather elements. To my disappointment, the laser-cut mounting holes from the vendor did not align correctly during my initial set-up.

Problem Solving: The SOLIDWORKS and 3D Print Technology Solution!

After multiple attempts of email correspondence and revised brackets from the vendor, it still did not fit correctly. Frustration set in so I made the decision to utilize SOLIDWORKS for its powerful design capabilities and Stratasys 3D printing technology as it’s the “go-to” additive manufacturing process to create parts, assemblies, and tooling. This decision helped minimize time-to-market, cost and more importantly, will return my KTM motorcycle to road-worthy condition.

The following GoEngineer videos discuss what 3D Printing technology is all about and which one is right for you:

3D Print Technology to the Rescue

Ultimately, I decided that Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) technology, offered by the FORTUS 250mc 3D printer would be a cost-effective choice for this application.

Collecting Information

Utilizing my trusty dial calipers, I documented critical dimensions from the aftermarket windscreen as well as from the existing mounting holes on my motorcycle. A baseline to incorporate into my SOLIDWORKS model.

With the design phase complete, I converted the SOLIDWORKS model to STL format. I was able to directly open that STL file inside the intuitive, user-friendly Insight and Control Center Application software. This software interfaces seamlessly with the FORTUS 250mc 3D printer.

Post-printed Cleanup and Installation

First, I separated my part from the base tray. Next, I used a solution bath to dissolve excess support material. The 3D printed brackets held tolerances within .005 of an inch (total) as compared to the SOLIDWORKS model.

Note: The final versions are the items in black.

Installation Time

Testing and Conclusion

After a day-long test ride and 350+ miles later, I find that I am not fatigued by excessive wind noise and wind pressure. I am satisfied with its durability as it has been tested in pre-dawn hours (i.e. cold weather), rain, cross-winds, head-winds and even at cruising speeds (somewhat above the law-abiding limit – not that I encourage that type of behavior).

In terms of saving time with the aftermarket vendor, what normally would have been 2 or 3 weeks of email correspondence and fabrication on new mounting brackets has now been reduced to 3 days. These 3 days included reverse engineering & redesign, 3D printing and test-fit of all components for proper fit-and-finish.

This redesign and modification served as a catalyst for conversation with other “backyard” motorcycle enthusiasts. The features and benefits of SOLIDWORKS, 3D Printing Technology and other services GoEngineer provides can’t be beat.

Happy riding!

]]>https://www10.mcadcafe.com/blogs/goengineer/2016/11/01/custom-motorcycle-windscreen-brackets-with-solidworks-stratasys-3d-print-technology/feed/0432Simulate Everything with the Stratasys J750https://www10.mcadcafe.com/blogs/goengineer/2016/06/20/simulate-everything-with-the-stratasys-j750/
https://www10.mcadcafe.com/blogs/goengineer/2016/06/20/simulate-everything-with-the-stratasys-j750/#respondMon, 20 Jun 2016 15:21:51 +0000https://www10.mcadcafe.com/blogs/goengineer/?p=3933D Printing has a new game-changer. In this recorded webinar, you will learn about the new Stratasys J750 3D Printer, the most advanced plastic 3D printer in the world!

]]>https://www10.mcadcafe.com/blogs/goengineer/2016/06/20/simulate-everything-with-the-stratasys-j750/feed/0393Shape Your Worldhttps://www10.mcadcafe.com/blogs/goengineer/2016/05/17/shape-your-world/
https://www10.mcadcafe.com/blogs/goengineer/2016/05/17/shape-your-world/#respondTue, 17 May 2016 18:48:17 +0000https://www10.mcadcafe.com/blogs/goengineer/?p=387Over the last few years, GoEngineer hosted a series of technical events in late spring. During these events, we showcased how our technology platforms work together to produce efficient workflows. Last year’s event was a little different. We packed 12 topics into 6 timeslots for a full day of learning. With over 2100 attendees during the last few events, we want thank you, our client partners, for this huge success!

Shape Your World Is On Its Way!

We are back at it this year with an exciting new project and schedule of topics. Shape Your World is the place where you can explore technology and learn processes from our experts. This is the perfect opportunity to catch-up and collaborate with old friends. You might even find a new one! With 7 time slots available starting at 9AM each day, we allow you to customize your agenda while attending several sessions that best fit your needs.

New Year Brings New Products

We’re excited to introduce some new members of our product line at this event. solidThinking offers us a couple of really exciting technologies. Inspire, for topology optimization, allows us to design around analysis scenarios. It shows us the right shape for how the part will be loaded. This allows us to minimize material usage but still meet our design requirements. Click2Cast is a tool that simulates the casting process. Giving designers and manufacturers confidence that the design is sound before spending valuable time & money on failed prototypes.

Integrating our project in each of the sessions, we will show how PCB & Electrical design, product visualization, technical communications and scanning play a part in our development process. Along the way we will share tips & tricks that help us be as efficient and effective as possible.

Click the photo below to register for one of the upcoming events near you. Space is limited so be sure to secure your spot now. We look forward to seeing you there!

Star Wars has a memorable scene where Boba Fett pulls off his iconic helmet from his father’s head. In the space between the third and fourth movies, Boba chooses to keep his father’s helmet. Perhaps it’s a reminder for him or a symbol of the torch passing from one generation to the next. By the time we see the helmet again, Jango’s dents are gone and have been replaced by a new series of battle scars, most notably a circular shaped indentation on the front right of Boba Fett’s temple.

The Star Wars Fan Theory:

We have no way of knowing how it got there, but Star Wars Fans have a few arguments; it was a door on Slave 1, it occurred during the ship’s crash or that it came from a particularly vicious head-butt. Due to CGI errors during that pivotal scene, we have no true answer.

This Star Wars scene gave me an idea…isn’t the base of a lightsaber about that size?

As I tried to determine if this was possible, I looked into Jango Fett’s dent created during the Kamino Escape.

Using SOLIDWORKS To Prove My Theory:

There could be endless debate and questions from me until I’m blue in the face, but that will never get me closer to an answer. So this led me to wonder – How can I find the answer to what caused this dent? Physical testing, of course! I looked around and quickly realized that I don’t have any Mandalorian armor lying around, nor a means to get it. All hopes weren’t diminished, though! When physical testing can’t be done, there is always Finite Element Analysis.

My weapon of choice was SOLIDWORKS Simulation. This required use of the highest level package to smack Boba Fett’s helmet with as many objects as possible. A Nonlinear analysis gave accurate results after the helmet yielded while also allowing movement of objects through time.

After getting the results, my favorite theory continues to be a lightsaber.

Allow me to explain how I used SOLIDWORKS to prove my Star Wars fan theory.

There are four or five main things any analysis requires to run. For me, in SOLIDWORKS Simulation, this was Materials, Restraints, Loads, and Mesh. SOLIDWORKS Simulation chose the best analytical theory for me, so I didn’t have to worry about that.

MATERIALS:

Materials gave the most trouble because I didn’t have any material properties for Mandalorian armor. I do know that Jango Fett’s armor was mostly made out of Durasteel (the stuff that also builds star ships) so I used a lightweight and strong steel with a few tweaks as an approximation. Secondly, I believe that the sturdy lightsaber would yield far after the thin helmet buckled, so I left the lightsaber lacking material and set to “Rigid”.

RESTRAINTS:

When dealing with restraints in Simulation, we have to remember that software doesn’t understand the real life physics that take place on around these objects. I expect the helmet to remain sturdy on Boba Fett’s shoulders so I used a totally fixed restraint on the bottom of the helmet. To prevent solver instability and speed the calculation I prevented rotation on the cylindrical faces of the lightsaber.

LOAD, MESH and little trick known to designer engineers:

In the sport of boxing, Boxers have measured hitting at 5000N of force so I can set the force behind the lightsaber to match. What I couldn’t forget is that The Force could be behind the lightsaber. So, I had to ask myself, what maximum does that really have? To get this lightsaber motion, I used a trick known to some analysts: I replaced the force with a Prescribed Displacement—telling the saber to move down a half an inch and see how this affected the helmet. This had the added benefit of stabilizing my calculation further and all I had to do was throw in a Mesh Control for accuracy.

The Results Are In:

I had my dent! Those results look pretty sweet. Not as sweet as the revenge Boba Fett craves, but certainly sugary enough to satisfy my sweet tooth.

So, what do you think caused the dent? Are you ready to start proving your Star Wars fan theories using analysis software? I’d love to know what you think. Oh—and best response gets an animation of Test 5…R2D2 at a 45 degree angle.

Star Wars Fan friends – looking for more? Get the SOLIDWORKS file for the helmet and lightsaber here or check out some of our latest prints below. If you have an idea or design ready for print, contact us!

]]>https://www10.mcadcafe.com/blogs/goengineer/2016/02/18/how-i-used-solidworks-to-prove-my-star-wars-fan-theory/feed/2356Top 10 GoEngineer Blog Posts of 2015 – SOLIDWORKS & 3D Printinghttps://www10.mcadcafe.com/blogs/goengineer/2016/01/01/339/
https://www10.mcadcafe.com/blogs/goengineer/2016/01/01/339/#respondFri, 01 Jan 2016 17:50:05 +0000https://www10.mcadcafe.com/blogs/goengineer/?p=3392015 flew by like a flash! Looking back, we created articles that helped inspire great designs and encourage innovation. Here is a list of top 10 blog posts viewed by readers like you! Stories include quick tips, new features in SOLIDWORKS 2016, 3D printing projects and so much more. Check them out and tell us what you think.

Microsoft released a new Windows update that caused a single dll to not properly install during the SOLIDWORKS Installation. Find out how you can solve this issue. Quick Fix for SOLIDWORKS Install Error

So tell us, which of the above was your favorite read? What would you like to learn more about in 2016? GoEngineer wishes you a happy, innovative and successful New Year!

]]>https://www10.mcadcafe.com/blogs/goengineer/2016/01/01/339/feed/03393D Print Technology and Motorcycle Toolinghttps://www10.mcadcafe.com/blogs/goengineer/2015/11/23/3d-print-technology-and-motorcycle-tooling/
https://www10.mcadcafe.com/blogs/goengineer/2015/11/23/3d-print-technology-and-motorcycle-tooling/#respondMon, 23 Nov 2015 16:00:36 +0000https://www10.mcadcafe.com/blogs/goengineer/?p=310Since purchasing my Ducati in 1996, I’ve had a love-hate relationship with it. When the weather is right, the motorcycle is freshly detailed, and the engine mechanics are in complete adjustment, there is no better feeling in the world like aggressively shifting through gears at wide-open throttle cresting an apex of a turn while dragging knee on a back country road.

The downside to Ducati ownership is the required frequent maintenance:

Incessant wear and tear of a racing dry clutch

Multiple cold start attempts due to having racing carburetors

Endless adjustments of the desmodromic valve assembly

Replacement of the fragile camshaft belts

Enter 3D Print Technology

I have a soft spot for spending countless hours creating tangible items from blocks or rounds of metal in a machine shop. However, when reducing time-to-market, minimizing cost, or more importantly, returning my Ducati motorcycle to road-worthy condition, 3D Print Technology is the “go-to” additive manufacturing process to create parts, assemblies and tooling in many industries.

Every two 2 years or 6000 miles, I replace the camshaft belts with new ones. Failure to do so is gambling with the potential of belt breakage or failure. The final output is typical damage to the unique desmodromic valve train components, the engine pistons and sometimes the engine cylinders. Its net value is equal to a boat anchor sinking fast in the deep blue Pacific Ocean.

Since the camshaft pulley is under tension, I challenged myself to create a tool or adapter that will easily rotate the camshaft pulley by using a wrench. Also in mind, is to create a tool to prevent bloody knuckles or bleeding fingers during the process.

Based on that criteria, I chose Fused Deposition Modeling, offered by the Stratasys uPrint SE Plus as a cost-effective choice for this application.

With the design phase complete, I converted the SOLIDWORKS model to STL format and directly opened that STL file inside the intuitive, user-friendly CatalystEX software which interfaces with the Stratasys uPrint SE Plus 3D printer.
Check out the office workhorse for all things 3D printed!

Post-Cleanup and Ready for Installation!

After careful separation from the base tray and a solution bath to dissolve excess support material, the 3D printed tool held tolerances within .005 of an inch (total) as compared to the SOLIDWORKS model.

Functionality and Durability!

The 3D printed tool as installed with mounting hardware on my Ducati motorcycle. No more bloody knuckles or bleeding fingers!

After multiple usage of this tool on both the vertical and horizontal camshaft pulleys, I am quite satisfied with its durability and functionality. In terms of saving time, what normally would be 20 minutes (on average) of fiddling by hand for that “perfect adjustment” has now been reduced to 5 minutes. This translates into more motorcycle riding time for me!

This tool has also served as a catalyst for conversation with other “backyard” Ducati enthusiasts about the features and benefits of 3D Printing Technology, SOLIDWORKS and other services which GoEngineer provides.

Happy riding!

]]>https://www10.mcadcafe.com/blogs/goengineer/2015/11/23/3d-print-technology-and-motorcycle-tooling/feed/0310The surprising secret to company cohesiveness and creativityhttps://www10.mcadcafe.com/blogs/goengineer/2015/10/02/the-surprising-secret-to-company-cohesiveness-and-creativity/
https://www10.mcadcafe.com/blogs/goengineer/2015/10/02/the-surprising-secret-to-company-cohesiveness-and-creativity/#respondFri, 02 Oct 2015 17:25:53 +0000https://www10.mcadcafe.com/blogs/goengineer/?p=238A couple of years ago, a few of us at GoEngineer started dreaming about what we could accomplish if we could gather all of our employees in the same location for a couple of days—call it networking, call it collaboration, call it an excuse to recharge. There was no doubt that the amount of talent and energy that could be shared had the potential to be game-changing for our company and customers.

Full disclosure: there had been flashes of this magic in past meetings with our technical team. We started bringing them together in one location a few years ago, thinking it’d be good to get everyone on the same page.

What we discovered was much bigger.

The impact of putting really bright, energetic, and innovative people in the same room for a few hours would actually create new and better “pages,” ones we hadn’t even considered.

So last week, after months of preparation, we invited our technical, sales, marketing, IT, admin, and management teams to spend a few days together to learn from the experts in our field and (more importantly) learn from each other.

We spent time collaborating with our partners about the future and what we can be doing today to help our customers navigate the opportunities and obstacles they face. We dedicated time across all of our departments sharing ideas regarding what works well and, just as importantly, on what areas need improvement.

Each day we started early and ended late.

The way our teams attacked the short time we had together demonstrated that they understood the value. It was an inspiration to see groups pulling together in side discussions during our breaks. It seemed that every discussion was built around the idea of improvement.

In a time where words such as “remote” and “online” dominate our business practices, it was refreshing to deal with issues in a personal, face-to-face way. I know that what I have just described isn’t reinventing the wheel; many companies of all sizes have done and continue to do very similar events.

So what is the surprising secret?

If you really want to tap in to the competitive and creative DNA within your company, I fully recommend adult Big Wheel Racing—it was EPIC!

Thank you to the entire team at GoEngineer that made this event (aptly named GoUniversity) an incredible success. Thank you to our partners who put their confidence in us to deliver their amazing technology on a daily basis.

Most of all, thank you to our customers. You are the reason that we push ourselves towards excellence. You inspire and educate us every single day and for that, we couldn’t be more grateful.

3D Scanning is the art of capturing real geometry by scanning physical products and getting them into a format to be used for diverse applications such as 3D printing, reverse engineering, inspection, and more.

If you think about it, 3D digitizing and additive manufacturing truly go hand-in-hand. So the partnership Creaform announced with Stratasys this summer is an absolute perfect fit.

In an effort to best serve its clients and prospects, GoEngineer, the number one worldwide Stratasys reseller in 2014, is now a reseller of Creaform 3D scanners and software. I am heading up the sales effort with Dave Arena, Applications Engineer, handling technical support.

And we not only sell the hardware and software products, but GoEngineer is also a 3D scanning service bureau for companies that need scanning but are not quite ready to invest in the products themselves. We also are certified to provide training on all of the products we carry.

Creaform’s HandySCAN 3D laser scanners have been completely re-engineered for optimum speed, accuracy, and portability. In fact, the HandySCAN product won the coveted 2015 Red Dot Award for product design.

Highly accurate and complete 3D scans from high resolution and the ability to substain higher measurement rates.

Automatic mesh output: Get ready-to-use files as soon as data acquisition is complete—and integrate within your workflow without any post-processing

Much more…

HandySCAN 3D scanners can be used at all stages of product lifecycle management: concept, design, manufacturing, and servicing.

We will have webinars and upcoming demonstrations of our Creaform products and are looking forward teaching you more about these exciting tools!

]]>https://www10.mcadcafe.com/blogs/goengineer/2015/09/22/3d-scanning-3d-printing-a-natural-combination-for-increased-productivity/feed/0257JoeEngineer Goes 3Dhttps://www10.mcadcafe.com/blogs/goengineer/2015/08/05/joeengineer-goes-3d/
https://www10.mcadcafe.com/blogs/goengineer/2015/08/05/joeengineer-goes-3d/#respondWed, 05 Aug 2015 17:57:00 +0000https://www10.mcadcafe.com/blogs/goengineer/?p=225Recently, I wrote about transforming JoeEngineer from a 2D image into a 3D solid model using SOLIDWORKS with Bringing 2D into the Next Dimension. Although I can create some very nice rendering using PhotoView 360, I wanted something a bit more tangible and set out to print Joe on a variety of our Stratasys 3D printers to create a life-sized head.

Joe’s Hair – Stratasys 250mc

Joe’s hair was not only the hardest to design, but it was also the most time consuming to print and post process. Important pieces to the hair process puzzle included:

Part Orientation – printed the hair on its side in our Stratasys Fortus 250mc using an ABS plus thermoplastic material. The 250mc has a build area of 10x10x12 cubic inches, well more than needed for the hair.

Amount of Support – the ABS uses a soluble support material. Not having to manually break the support off of these spikes, avoids the chance of messing up the actual part.

Final Look – Printing the hair on its side not only makes the points in Joe’s hair very sharp and distinct, but also give the texture of hair. The final product came out better than I could have imagined!

Joe’s Head – Stratasys Fortus 450mc

Just as much thought went into material and part orientation for printing Joe’s head. The final orientation for printing was tilted forward 45 degrees to minimize the number of places that support attached to the head and for a clean look all around.

Because of the orientation, the head exceeded the build size of the 250mc so I decided to print on a new Stratasys Fortus 450mc that has a build area of 16x14x16 cubic inches. Opting to use the new ASA material that is UV resistant, Joe doesn’t need to worry about sunscreen and has the nicest aesthetic finish of all nine materials available.

Sclera – Objet 30 Pro

To give a lifelike look and feel to Joe, I went all out and include the Objet 30 Pro powered by PolyJet technology for the sclera. With a high resolution of 16 microns, and using the VeroWhitePlus material, created a part with a glossy look that resembled the whites of a human eye! Joe’s head was coming together.

Pupils – Connex 3

At this point, Joe was almost finished, but he was missing two very critical parts that give him his iconic look: his green eyes and taped glasses. In order to successfully print these, I needed a printer that could print the eyes with the same glossy sheen of the sclera, and print with the GoEngineer-green.

Our Object 260 Connex 3 worked great for this task. This printer allows for a fine resolution and allows you to mix a total of three materials (and colors) together for unique material and color combinations. With the right combination of materials, the pupil and iris printed together and the glasses got the distinct green tape on the bridge.

Our Santa Ana, CA office was buzzing with fun and giggles last week. We welcomed an Irvine Girl Scout Troop to get an insider’s look at custom design and 3D printers in action. 11 troop members, aged only 8-9yrs old, were all but shy when it came to being an engineer for the day. They excitedly listened to Jeff Jordan, Applications Engineer at GoEngineer, as he walked them through the SOLIDWORKS design steps of creating a custom Girl Scout cookie. They got their design inspiration from a favorite cookie, the Thin Mint, then added the Girl Scout logo for fun.

They sat in our training room, each at their own computer station. Some could barely see over their monitors to see Jeff’s presenting screen, but they were undeterred. They were engaged and inquisitive about the process.

Then, it was time to send their design to print and head to our 3D Printing Lab! Their Girl Scout cookie design was printed on the uPrint 3D printer with ABS plastic and in 3 different colors. Whatever excitement they felt in the design process was only magnified when they experienced our 3D Printing Lab. They got to see several of our state-of-the-art Stratasys 3D printers in action by literally peering through the glass door as it printed.

Jeff taught them about the different 3D printing technologies, and different printing materials available. He even showed them how to wash the soluble solution off of a finished printed part, teaching them about how a 3D printer treats the negative space in a design.

In spit-fire fashion their questions came at Jeff – all with more enthusiasm than the one before. They each took home a GoEngineer themed goody-bag (including the 3D printed Girl Scout cookie) to remember us by, and hopefully they also took home a spark of interest in the engineering disciplines. Here’s to more #FutureEngineers!

“Our Girl Scout troop, all 3rd graders, were fascinated by the process of creating a 3D Girl Scout Cookie from beginning to end. Thank you for providing such an informative session for our energetic girls. Also, by being able to take home the finished product, the girls have something to show their families and friends. Thank you GoEngineer!” – Denise Holden, Troop Leader